Breakfast had been nice, even with Mischief chattering on. Thanking Bar, he made his way back to the Adventurers' Guild. It was early in the morning, so there was little traffic on the streets as merchants moved their goods and set up their storefronts for the day. He made a few notes on the locations of shops that had items he might need, but didn't linger too long. He also noticed a shadows following him.

They were clearly professionals, but his own senses, and Mischief's vocal complaints about them, alerted him to their existence. He couldn't get a good look at them, but he noticed that they wore black robes and that there were at least three of them. He couldn't be sure of more, as black robes were not uncommon in the city. Not knowing who they worked for and whether or not they were law enforcers limited Jaeger's options. His best bet, and the one he chose, was to stay close to random civilians and hurry to the Guild; a clause in the contract he'd signed said they'd protect him from unsavory groups.

“So where do you plan to shine your light on these dreadful shadows?”

“I don't. I plan to go to the guild and avoid a confrontation with them.”

“Hrrm. Explain.”

“I can tell you're going to cause a confrontation if I don't, so okay. I don't know who this group is working for. They could be from the Guild to protect me, they could be a group from whoever runs this country to check on their newest outworlder, or they could be from the Black Lagoon Company. I'm not sure, but if they're from the Guild or the government, I can't just attack them; that's how you get locked into a slave contract and forced to do the bidding of whoever you pissed off until they feel you've paid them off.”

“Acceptable, though I find this stalemate boring. But I have learned enough about you to know that if they are a threat, you will deal with them violently.”

After that, the two fell silent as they made their way through the crowd to the guild. The shadows that had been following them only disappeared when they came within spear-throwing range of the guild. A tension in his shoulders went with them, it had taken a lot of willpower not to turn around and confront them; he convinced himself it was at least good training for his Will.

“Hey, you’re back.” Lisette called to him from the desk she'd taken over. There was a mountain of paperwork on it.

“Yes, I have a few questions. I'd also like to see if I can get the healer, I'm going to use the Armory.”

“Well, let us deal with your questions first. None of our healers are logged in yet. We could wake one up, but unless it is an emergency, they will charge you more.”

Jaeger nodded, content to wait, his questions would take some time to be answered anyway.

“So, questions?”

“Yeah, I'm just trying to organize them so they come out right.” He sat down across from her. “Have you heard of the Black Lagoon Company and, if so, what do you know about it?”

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“The BLC, how’d you hear about them?”

“I was at Bar's bar last night, you could have warned me he was a bear by the way, and a few soon-to-bes were talking.”

“Soon-to-bes?”

“Yeah, that's what I call people who are likely to be on bounty posters. I used to play a guessing game with another bounty hunter, I had a decent eye for them.”

“You should definitely write down those old world bounty hunter things you did, some of them sound useful; not this one, but maybe others.” Lisette looked around her desk but could not find what she was looking for. Giving up, she turned back to him. “The BLC is a religious organization, they are also a black listed organization. Their members are hunted when discovered and they are reviled by everyone, even some criminal organizations are against them. No one is sure what they want and the things they do don't seem to have an end goal. Though it is interesting that you brought it up.”

“Why is that?”

“Because they have a vested interest in interacting with Outworlders. Most of the information we have about the organization comes from Outworlders.”

“How do you know if someone is a member?”

“They have a black rune mark on them, it's a Lagu rune in a circle. It's very distinctive, unfortunately nothing else identifies them. You could try asking what god they worship, if they tell you and can prove it, you can be sure they're not from the Company.”

Jaeger nodded and decided to be wary of most people. He'd gotten some information about the Black Lagoon Company, but if anything, he was even more confused. Why had they brought him here and why did they want to take him to a place that sounded very torturous? He only had more questions, but maybe Lisette could answer at least one of them.

“Lisette I got one last question about them. Do they have an area of operation? Somewhere they’re more active?”

“Tough question, Jaeger. They don't operate in a way that can be identified. They are more of a shadow group and they mostly use catspaws. If you want to know more, I can look it up, but I'd like to know why.”

“Fair enough. Then I don't need to know more, if or when I do, I'll tell you why.”

Lisette stared at him for a few moments, her face stern and focused. She wasn't the first to stare at him, and the lack of bloodlust made it very unintimidating. Finally, she stopped with a huff of annoyance as the guild doors opened and a new group of people entered.

“Well, you're too new to be a Company-man and the guild mistress has cleared you. I don't like not knowing, but I won't push it for now.”

A man in a powder blue robe walked up and began to speak.

“Hey Manager Lisette, nice to see you. I heard you needed a healer to help you out?”

He had a soft and pleasant face. With eyes that were a glowing azure, not just the pupils like Jaeger's, but the entire eyeball. He had an easy smile and ghostly pale hair. His voice, even at full volume, had sounded like an insistent whisper. For now, he stared at Lisette as he spoke, but as soon as he finished, he turned his gaze to Jaeger. Being under the strange and intense gaze made Jaeger feel like he was being examined and measured. He felt like he was being tested, he didn't much like it.

“Look elsewhere before I make you.”

A surprised look crossed the blue-eyed man's face as Jaeger replied, but then a warm smile blossomed.

“A hunter? How interesting, my apologies let me ease up on you.”

The glow of his eyes cooled, becoming more like a wisp in the night than a fire, and his eyelids dropped to a half-closed position, giving him a sleepy look. The feeling of being exposed left Jaeger and he felt his body relax. Lisette had quietly watched the interaction between them and when it was over, she smiled faintly.

“My eyes, when fully open, reflect what you are and also allow me to see more of you. This can be very helpful for healing, but it can also be disturbing for people like you. Let me introduce myself, my name is Jin, and as you've heard, I'm a healer, probably the best in the guild.”

Jin held his hand out towards Jaeger.